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David Rourke
Overview David Augustus Rourke is a former Clandestine Services officer of the American Central Intelligence Agency, currently residing in the Combine controlled City 24, formerly known as Geneva, Switzerland. As a former spy for the defunct U.S. government, Rourke has been forced to utilize a number of aliases to avoid the Combine’s ongoing liquidation efforts of former military, law enforcement, and intelligence assets of Earth’s Pre-Seven-Hour-War nation-states. While currently regarded as a Malignant presence and the subject of a Civil Protection manhunt, Rourke has been forced to utilize the alias of Alexander Petrenko while residing in City 24. “Petrenko” currently operates as a Confidential Informant for Civil Protection, but only reporting individually to Unit 831, 01 Officer August Lamont of City 24’s District 3 Patrol Team. While he is alive and in relatively good health, Rourke’s fate currently remains unknown, having been abandoned in City 24 by his former comrades of The Lodge, as well as having cut all contact with former associates of the Syndicate. He remains indentured to Lamont as a personal asset to him, although it is unknown how long Rourke will be considered essential until he is uncovered by other Combine elements or disposed of by Lamont. Rourke has no other friends or living family members inside of his immediate social circle, and as such, leads an incredibly solitary life-style, even among the Combine’s most opulent and luxurious city. Biography David Rourke was born to Alexei and Katya Kremenski on August 23, 1973, near Brighton Beach, “Little Odessa”, New Jersey. Having immigrated to the United States prior to the birth of their first child, sometime after 1970, Alexei and Katya, in an attempt to better assimilate into Anglo-American culture, took the Angelized names Alexander and Katherine, adopting the surname of Rourke, which was “the most Anglo thing (Alexei) could think of at the time”. Having escaped the repression of the Ukrainian SSR, Alexei and Katya were typical immigrant parents, who wanted their children to grow up rich and spoiled while they chased the American Dream, a far-cry from the oppression they faced in Soviet ruled Eastern Europe. Alexei and Katya had married in Ukraine, and managed to immigrate to the U.S. by posing as Jews, which promptly earned them the label of “Undesirables” and a quick ticket out from behind the Iron Curtain. After three years of living in the U.S., Alexei and Katya celebrated the birth of their first child, David, followed shortly by Victor, in 1979. David and Victor lived like typical Jersey city-kids. They both attended public schools, played sports, hung out with friends, and got into trouble occasionally. After graduating high-school, to compliment his All-American experience, Rourke went to college, studying Political Economy and minoring in Slavic Studies at Princeton, where he was recruited immediately out of school by the CIA in 1995. While initially keen on analysis, Rourke was inducted as a Clandestine Services officer and sent to train at The Farm, the CIA’s espionage training facility in Virginia. There, he learned the various operational skills and tradecraft of a field-agent, and was promptly prepared for field-work in Eastern Europe due to his ethnic heritage and pre-requisite schooling. By 1997, Rourke had become a full-fledged field operative, and was assigned to Kiev, Ukraine, where his first official assignment was to help with the disruption of illegal arms-trafficking out of the now defunct former Soviet satellite state. It was during this operation, working in conjunction with several other American assets in the region, that Rourke quickly earned himself a reputation as something of a prime hatchet-man, dispatching Russian mobsters and Russian-controlled Ukrainian operatives with extreme ruthlessness. In 1998, the Black Mesa Incident would send intelligence ripples all across the world, radically altering the objectives of every major intelligence agency around the globe. Black Mesa became something like America’s version of Chernobyl; The U.S. government could not afford to let the events of the Resonance Cascade become public knowledge for the ramifications that it would have for the security of its own populace, as well as the threat of losing their potential edge in the race for scientific supremacy and the possible weaponization of teleport technology and xenobiology. While the events of the Black Mesa Incident were easy to suppress at first, the detonation of a nuclear device in the New Mexico desert made it impossible for foreign powers to ignore. Foreign assets inside of the U.S. were quick to discover that the detonation of such a device was not in keeping with any sort of scheduled test, and that ground-zero for the blast had in-fact been inside of an active, commercial scientific facility, the entire staff of which, comprised of hundreds of personnel, were now “missing”. Surviving scientists, who had been first-hand witness to some of the U.S. government’s brutal attempts to contain the incident, were quick to flee the country, seeking asylum in various nations around the globe, including the Russian Federation, who were all too happy to offer shelter to frightened scientists in exchange for whatever insight they could provide into the nature of their research. It was this development that provided Rourke with a new assignment; The tracking, apprehension, and/or assassination of American scientists attempting to barter the knowledge of Black Mesa’s research, and its catastrophic results, for their own security. Since he had an intimate and pre-existing familiarity with Russia’s “Near Abroad”, comprised of former Soviet-bloc countries, Rourke became the CIA’s chief head-hunter for Black Mesa’s surviving scientists attempting to defect to the Russian Federation. His primary targets became known as the “Anomalous Group”, a collection of scientists who, after surviving the Black Mesa incident, pooled their collective assets together in order to book safe passage for themselves and their families into Eastern Europe. These individuals included Arne Magnuson, Issac Kleiner, Eli Vance, Judith Mossman, and Barney Calhoun, along with their accompanying family members. While Rourke was party to several other splinter operations, at the time, this was his primary assignment, up until the arrival of the Combine on Earth and the start of the Seven Hour War. With the arrival of the Combine on Earth, and the subsequent decimation of all of its governments and their militaries, Rourke and his colleagues, who were operating out of the U.S. Embassy in Kiev at the time, made the decision to dismantle the intelligence operations of their station, and to permanently assume the identities of their aliases, in an attempt to avoid capture and execution, or worse, by Combine liquidation forces. For nearly 20 years, Rourke lived as “Canadian refugee” among Ukraine’s surviving civilian populace, being eventually assigned a residence in City 17’s Industrial Sector. For nearly 20 years, Rourke lived a quiet and relatively uneventful life. His training had payed off; Allowing himself to become the perfect “Little Gray Man” had enabled Rourke to avoid detection and trouble. As an utterly unremarkable specimen, he subsisted quietly and out of any spotlight, avoided most non-routine harassment from Civil Protection, and made an honest living for himself with a mix of blue-collar and service work. For a time, it felt like home, he imagined himself as his father when he was a young man, walking many of the same streets and avoiding the stomps of jackboots or the snare of secret police. This lasted until happenstance saw him reunited with Shoji Takamura, a member of the Japanese Yakuza and black-marketer, now operating in City 17. With the two recognizing each other during a chance meeting, they soon entered into a business alliance, Rourke providing muscle and operational guidance to Shoji’s venture and it’s business partners, and with Shoji proving Rourke a more opulent lifestyle via the riches they made founding City 17’s most prolific underground trade network in it’s history. The work was dangerous, but the money was good, so Rourke went along with it all quite happily. This was until meeting Denise Walterson, when things began to sour for their operation. Denise’s recruitment to the organization would eventually prove to be highly troublesome, sparking much irritation and heightened paranoia in Rourke, who was rarely pleased by the extra attention Denise often attracted to their operations. It was in the aftermath of one of these ops-gone-wrong, Rourke was informed that Denise was to be “silenced” for her apparent ineptitude. Perceiving Denise to be as-good-as-dead by this point, Rourke was more than surprised and disturbed to discover Denise intruding in his apartment, where they were promptly involved in a near-death altercation. Having taken Rourke by surprise, Denise relayed to him that her intrusion was in-fact an independent effort by her to fabricate Rourke’s demise, in order to garner him a “phantom’s status” in order to gain unrestricted access between the city and the Outlands. After some clarification from both Shoji and Marco Mancini, Rourke was convinced that Denise’s intentions were pure, however very poorly planned. What’s more, it revealed a glaring oversight in his personal security apparatus. If a loud-mouthed nuisance such as Denise could get to him so easily, it was only a matter of time until this vulnerability was exploited by far more cunning and deadly foes, or so Rourke thought. The incident only served to fuel his paranoia, as well as alert Rourke to the existence of the Lodge and its operatives, a force to be reckoned with whose ire he had certainly now earned with the incident. Sometime after this incident, during a routine dead-drop inspection in the sewers beneath City 17, Rourke was ambushed and mortally wounded by a Gonome. Having possessed no viable forms of communication, nor any first-aid to treat himself, Rourke had given himself up for dead, before Denise, of all people, came to his aide and pulled him from the underground, mending his wounds as well as providing more insight into her involvement in the Syndicate’s plans, as well as the Lodge’s pending interests in their affairs. The two parted ways semi-amicably, with Rourke having gained a newfound appreciation for Denise’s skills and earnest, albeit gruff, demeanor. Eventually, Denise was able to facilitate a meeting between Rourke and the Lodge’s patriarch, Azaizel Hellsing. It was during this meeting that Rourke’s identity was laid bare by Azaizel, during a tongue-in-cheek confrontation inside of the Slice of Italy. While Azaizel had done little to reveal his true intentions for his business in City 17. It was after this meeting that Rourke became a regular point-of-contact for various operatives of the Lodge, as something of an intermediary between the Syndicate, as well as a fixer-for-hire. After a time, Rourke was able to ingratiate himself with Azaizel. Seeking to secure himself safe passage out of Combine controlled territory, Rourke agreed to participate in the hijacking of a Combine Razor Train loaded with supplies. This heist not only served as a test of capability, but also as a test of loyalty. Rourke’s participation landed him squarely in the sights of Combine authorities, though this act of near-suicide ultimately proved to be Rourke’s initiation into the Lodge. After hijacking and looting the train, Rourke, along with Denise, Moira, and Jon the Cremator, made their way into the Outlands until they eventually hiked their way back to the Lodge, located on the coast of the Black Sea. Upon arriving there, Rourke was quickly put to work, helping to maintain the Lodge and its personnel through the assistance with various chores, as well as scouting runs and foraging operations in the surrounding Outlands. Throughout the duration of his residence at the Lodge, he was able to get to know its various residents, as well as grow closer to the Lodge’s main figureheads such as Faith Holland. In only a few months of staying there, Rourke would assist in repelling no less than three Combine assaults on the Lodge, as well as saving Faith’s life after being mortally wounded during one of these assaults. Unfortunately, becoming extra chummy with the people of the Lodge also meant the proliferation of romantic tensions between Rourke and Denise, whom the latter simply viewed the former as a disposable tool for pleasure. No wanting to create an unnecessary complication in the already tense social dynamics of the Lodge, Rourke rejected many of Denise’s advances, and as a result, seemingly helped to propel the young ward into a highly depressive state, which only further strained his social standing with the other denizens of the Lodge. Throughout his various exploits among them, David Rourke could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of rejection from most of the denizens of the Lodge. Those that were not outright scorned by his presence were simply aloof, and despite his best efforts to ingratiate himself to its key facilitators and figureheads, after several months, he found it was all going nowhere. This, coupled with his battle with deeply unsettling and unfamiliar personal feelings, lead Rourke to abandon the Lodge, and seek out a life of solitude in the Outlands, away from all others. If he couldn’t make it with the misfits of the rest of the world’s misfits, he’d attempt to make it on his own. Of course, this was doomed not to last long. Between the scarcity of resources and the fierce competition between rival refugee groups, Rourke quickly found himself starving and destitute, subsisting on literal scraps near City 17’s outer perimeter walls. Starving and out of options, Rourke eventually re-entered City 17, seeking out his old business partner Marco Mancini, who still resided in the City. Upon returning to the city, Rourke was able to make contact with Marco, who was able to furnish him false credentials for reintegrating into city-life. It was here, that the alias “Alexander Petrenko” was born. After a short stint back in City 17, Marco and Rourke both saw it pertinent to relocate, as their fragmented black-marketing syndicate had come under attack by several rival gangs, who had nearly succeeded in assassinating Marco in his own restaurant, the Slice of Italy. After securing another set of false credentials, including travel vouchers bound for the Loyalist, luxury-city of City 24, the duo dismantled their operations in City 17, and burned down the slice of Italy, before departing. Marco and Rourke decided to travel separately, in order to avoid arousing suspicion following their hasty flight from several crime scenes of their making. David Rourke was the second to arrive in City 24, however, he was the first to be apprehended by City Protection. Upon being detained, Rourke was immediately subjected to interrogation by City 24’s 01-Watch Officer August Lamont, who had seen through Rourke’s false credentials and disguise. Being a shrewd and opportunistic man himself, Lamont recognized the opportunity afforded to him by potential blackmail of high-level criminal in City 24, a city whose criminal underbelly was undeveloped. This would change under Lamont, who utilized Rourke’s own contacts, as well as Lamont’s authority to circumvent certain security measures, to establish and revive City 24’s black-market for contraband goods and entertainment, following the total destruction of a Lambda Resistance cell in the city only several months prior. Despite his Machiavellian intent, Lamont did make good on his promises to shield the Syndicate’s activities from his more zealous colleagues in Civil Protection. Under this new mafioso security apparatus, the Syndicate was able to sponsor the creation of an under-ground fight-club, an information and betting exchange, as well as a large contraband smuggling operation. This was all in spite of fragmenting relations among the Syndicate’s own leadership, who had grown to distrust Rourke for his unholy alliance, as well as renewed efforts by an especially overzealous political officer from Civil Protection’s Chaplain Corps, to root out corruption and anti-citizen activity in City 24. After some time in City 24, Rourke was once again located by members of the Lodge, who had travelled an immense distance from the Black Sea for a reason that remained unknown to Rourke. They eventually made contact with Rourke, and spared him no measure of admonishment for his hasty abandonment of their ranks. Rourke was able to mostly explain his presence in City 24 by the success of his new business ventures, and attempted to buy-off the various members of the Lodge. This was met with minimal success, and very dim view by the Lodge’s leadership, mainly Azaizel, who Rourke believed to have contemplated having him killed to ensure his silence. During a late-night negotiation between Rourke and a few senior leaders from the Lodge, a Chaplain investigation team happened upon the bar where the meeting was taking place, and proceeded to initiate a full shake-down of all of its occupants. This lead to a near-shootout between the bar patrons the Civil Protection officers responding there, however the members of the Lodge were saved by a distraction caused by a malfunctioning Combine Synth-Soldier, who appeared in a nearby abandoned building and opened fire on the Civil Protection officers. This distraction afforded Rourke enough time to improvise a Molotov Cocktail, which he quickly used to block off the front entrance of the bar with a wall of flame. Rourke and several other bar patrons were able to escape using a smuggler’s tunnel constructed in the rear of the bar. It was later assumed that they had all perished in the flames, with no bodies able to be recovered from the rubble. The tunnel lead the group into the city’s underground, a largely abandoned area of the city filled with the ruins of the previous resistance cell, as well as other horrors. At some point during their trek through the underground, Rourke separated from the others in an attempt to reduce their profile. However, he unwittingly ran head-long into another Xen monstrosity, which teleported him even further underground. After being teleported deeper and further into City 24’s underground, Rourke was forced to navigate the treacherous catacombs of the abandoned and decaying remains of Resistance hovels and collapsing infrastructure. After surveying the veritable tombs of the resistance members before him, Rourke was eventually discovered by a roving synth patrol, which pursued him all the way to the surface. Rourke was able to evade the synth, however not before triggering a district-wide Judgement Waiver. The waiver resulted in the death of a the Vortiguant Vrah'Lung'Grah, who was previously known to Rourke, as well as other members of the Lodge. Although Vrah was able to buy Rourke valuable time to escape, the loss of such a powerful and wisened member of the Lodge’s network created an almost irreconcilable rift between Rourke and the others. Despite his guile and best attempts at subterfuge, Civil Protection was able to finally identify Alexander Petrenko as David Rourke, and a city-wide manhunt was commenced in the days following his escape from the underground. Rourke eventually made the choice to surrender to Lamont personally, so that Lamont might afford him some measure of protection. This lead to a heated dispute between Lamont and Chaplain 512, who accused, rather astutely, Lamont of harboring Rourke as a personal pawn in a corrupt scheme. Lamont was eventually able to secure Rourke’s protection as a confidential informant, much to the ire of 512. Rourke was last seen in custody in a Civil Protection detention facility somewhere inside of District 3, awaiting sequester and “debrief” by Lamont.